By Sam Gregory: On the undercard of ESPN2 Friday Night Fights from Miami Ira Terry 21-2 with 12 KO’s took on Leon Bobo 18-2 with 2 KO’s in a scheduled eight round bout in the Jr. Lightweight division.
In the first round the bigger stronger Terry came out using his jab and landing a couple shots but basically testing the waters against Bobo who is the older more experienced fighter. Bobo picked his shots but it was a very close uneventful round.
In round 2 Terry went right after Bobo throwing shots and backing him against the ropes but Bobo spun his way out and went to work in the center of the ring. Midway through the round Terry went on the defense but Bobo really didn’t take advantage by using his jab. Terry was the more aggressive fighter.
In round 3 Terry came out letting his hands go and backing Bobo against the ropes. Terry fought in close and worked the body more than his opponent. Bobo stayed on the defense covering up again in this round letting Terry land the shots.
In round 4 Terry upped his work rate and landed more punches early on. Bobo had a pawing jab that had no effect on Terry who carried this round. Terry did start getting careless with his shots. Bobo began throwing more punches in this round.
Round 5 Terry again came out hard and backed Bobo against the ropes; Bobo spun out and took the fight to the center of the ring. Midway through this fight both fighters looked spent and pawed and each other in the center of the ring. For the first time Bobo outlanded Terry in this round.
Round 6 Terry backed Bobo into the corner, Bobo spun out, it went to the center of the ring where Bobo clinched. Terry punched out and threw and landed his jab and landed a strong right hand.
Round 7 the fighters came out for the round and Bobo took a knee from what looked like a clash of heads early in the round. It was not ruled a knockdown. After a few seconds Bobo seemed to recover and threw some shots and actually outlanded Terry midway through this round. it ended up being a round where Bobo landed more shots.
Round 8 Terry came out throwing his jab but Bobo seemed to time his punches and landed the more accurate shots. Terry threw several combinations but most were blocked by Bobo. The fighters clinched and separated by the ref. the round ended and the fight went to the judge’s scorecards.
76-76, 77-75 twice for the winner Ira Terry who improved his record to 22-2 with 12 KO’s; Bobo fell to 18-3 with 2 KO’s.